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Sourcing fair Morocco: growing demand for jeans

by Lisa Dartmann — October 28, 2013

Over 135 companies from the upstream textile supply field from the Euromed region and Moroccan clothing manufacturers exhibited at this years edition of Maroc in Mode & Maroc Sourcing on 24 – 25 October, in Casablanca.

The fairs were organised by Amith, the trade body for Moroccan textile and clothing manufacturers, in collaboration with Maroc Export. In attendance were retailers and fashion labels such as Stefanelli, Simonetta, Antica Sartoria or Pinko from Italy; Cortefiel, Iturri, Escorpion from Spain; Perry Ellis, Topshop, House of Fraser from Great Britain and Willy Bogner, Mac, Mustang and Orsay from Germany. The largest groups of visitors came from France, including Galeries Lafayette, Caroll, Cache Cache, Pimkie, La Redoute, La Nouvelle Vague, Go Sport etc. For the first time, Russian labels visited the fair.

Fashion retailers and manufacturers found an extensive range of textiles for the production of in-house collections in the fields of womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, jeans, body and beachwear, as well as branded and private label collections and sustainably produced eco collections. Jeans were a major topic at the fair. Many innovative denims were presented. “Jeans and piece-dyed casual pants from Morocco are enjoying an ever-growing demand,” said Christiane Schultz, export consultant, Amith. In addition to the fashionable component, the reason for the strong demand for jeans lies primarily in the sustainability of production: no hazardous sandblasting is done, and a significant reduction of water consumption is also achieved with the use of ozone washes and “waterless” jeans.

Morocco's textile and clothing industry has a good reputation. Mohammed Tazi, Managing Director of Amith, explained: “As a consequence of the rising production costs in Asia, Morocco´s textile and clothing industry has come more and more into the focus of fashion producers as a safe and comfortable sourcing option.” Duty-free delivery to the EU, short distances involved in transit, as well as environmentally friendly and sustainable production methods are some advantages that make Morocco attractive for international manufacturers. The European Union is the number one export market for the Moroccan textile and clothing industry. Today, Morocco is the fifth most important supplier of textiles to the European market. In addition to France, Spain and the UK, Italy and Germany are now some of Morocco's biggest customers. “Our aim is to increase the global significance of Morocco as a production location for the textile and clothing industry,” said Mohammed Tazi. The association has about 880 members, including some of the strongest performers in the industry.

Due to the recent dramatic accidents in the far eastern production sites, the security and social aspects of the employees in the textile production sector have turned out to be important propositions for the consumers to accept a label or not. The Moroccan textile industry can claim to care for employees working in the textile sector. Mohammed Tazi: “The 200,000 employees in the textile industry have social and health insurance, the minimum wage for employees currently amounts to 260 Euro per month. As the demand for internationally accepted certifications such as BSCI, GOTS and Öko-Tex, is increasing. Many Moroccan companies are already certified and their production corresponds to the requirements of social acceptability and sustainability.”